Warcraft: A Different Path
by 4master
Summary: What if Arthas was stopped moments before he took the blade of Ner'zhul? This is the alternate storyline about it. ArthasxJaina pairing, along with a different lich king. Read the story where Arthas continues his life as a human prince and later as king.
1. Refusal

Ok, this is my first warcraft fic. The basic plot is what wold have happened if Arthas had not taken up the blade. **I am NOT repeat NOT taking or stealing anyone else's plot, so please dont message me for that.**

This will start out from when Arthas has boken the case of Frostmourne in warcraft 3. It shall go until the destruction of the lich king in WoW: WOTLK

**Yes, there shall be another Lich king **. Not an OC. If anyone can guess who it is, I shall be happy to share spoilers with him/her.(please notify me if you are an alien.) This offer is first come first serve basis.

**Disclamer: I do not own the Warcraft series.** If i did, Arthas wont become the lich king and Frostmourne woudnt be broken. ( its a beautiful sword!)

* * *

Chapter 1

The explosion was loud but the tall frame of the man easily withstood it. For some particular reason the heavy chucks of ice seemed to avoid him. The cold wind from the chamber mocked him, sending chills down his spine. His muscles were extremely sore, apparently from the countless battles fought. One hand clasped the handle of a fine maul, made of the finest thorium available. There was no sunlight, although the light given by the weapon in front of him reflected off his chest plate. His fingers were frostbitten. Apparently not even the strongest gloves and gauntlets kept out the killing cold of Northrend.

Besides him, the limp body of a mighty dwarf lay. The shards had clearly pierced his windpipe, allowing the climate to freeze his body from the inside. A terrible death, a painful one too. Moreover, metal was an excellent conductor of heat, furthering his demise.

For some particular, his companion didn't seem to mind. Sparing his companion a glance, he reverted his gaze back to the magnificent blade in front of his figure. It was very beautiful, giving off a chilling aura. The minor protrusions from its side gleamed wickedly, further signifying its use. It was a brutal weapon, down to its very core. The color was magnificent metallic, although there were traces of blue lining the edge. The skull of ram, or what it seemed like, adorned the hilt. The eves of the skull were glowing a magnificent blue, and were constantly spewing what seemed like cold breath.

Yes. Frostmourne was worthy of its name.

A weapon capable of killing mercilessly, living, dead and the undead alike. No remorse. No pity. And no mercy.

It lay on the ground, its blade sticking on the ground, as if waiting to be picked up. For some particular reason, the warning of Muradin Bronzebeard played again in Arthas's mind. Arthas hesitated. He knew that after this, there would be no turning back. But no. He had to go on. He had to do this for his people. The lives of a few were worthless when compared to a whole nation. He was ready to give up anything. He wanted his subjects to see the light of another day. He wanted them to live on. He was ready to sacrifice anything for that. He hoped that they would understand. He didn't even mind if he perished. He was ready for that. He was walking on the land of the dead, yet was not afraid of it. Too bad most of his soldiers did not share his views.

Arthas trudged forward, the snow crunching under his heels. The snow flattened itself under his weight, and his power. It was as if the entire land was afraid of him…..and the blade. As he edged closer to the sword, he started to question his motives. But however, the sight of his homeland was enough to quash those thoughts. He cursed silently. Mal'Ganis was rallying the undead. If he fell, there was no stopping him from taking over the nations. The sight of his country turned into mindless vessels made the bile rise up in his throat. He hated himself for destroying a town. But somehow he convinced himself to move himself forward, no matter how big his guilt. The dark aura emerged from the blade made him shiver, but he took it as his punishment for his sins.

Closing his eyes for a moment, he went forward. Reaching the blade, he opened his cracked lips; he managed out a cracked whisper.

"I hope you will forgive me, Father, Sir Uther and…..Jaina."

Just then, as if on by cue, a firebolt crashed on the blade, sending it farther than Arthas. The sudden change in heat caused Arthas to go into shock for a few seconds. Regaining the ability of thought, he turned back to see the attacker. A shock of blond hair obscured his vision as he was thrown on the ground, his vision blocked and a pair of hands captured him into a hug.

"Oh God Arthas! I thought that I had lost you!"

"Jaina?" Arthas managed to stutter out in spite of himself.

Arthas managed to look at her face. The usual clean skin was tear stained, eyes were puffy and red, as if she was crying. As she saw his emerald orbs staring back at herself, she sobered up quickly and stood up.

"What are you doing here?" His voice was on the borderline of anger

"To stop you from claiming that sword."

"Jaina. That sword is the only thing capable of destroying the undead once and for all."

"Don't be stupid Arthas. This is not the real force of the undead! Mal'Ganis is only a Captain of sorts. He only commands a part of the real force. You can't beat them here, Arthas."

Arthas looked as if she had lost her mind.

"Do you know what are you even talking about?"

"I most certainly do, Arthas! Please! Trust me! Just this once!"

"I trusted you Jaina! You broke that trust at Strathome!"

Jaina cringed. She hated where the conversation was going.

"For that Arthas, I'm sorry. But I won't allow you to take that cursed blade!"

"You're sorry? That's all you wanted to say? I trusted YOU Jaina! I thought that at least you will support my decision! But no! You left with the others, like the cowards they were!"

"THEY WERE NOT COWARDS!"

"If they are not, then why are they not here?"

"Because…..This is suicide mission, Arthas!"

Her voice cracked. She seemed next to break into tears again. Arthas calmed down a bit, for he hated to see the woman he loved cry.

"Please. Don't do this Arthas. I'm begging you! Taking that sword is suicide. It would tear me apart if you died."

Arthas's facial expression again became grim.

"The price of one life is worthless against a nation."

With that, he got up to take the blade. Once again, he was blocked by Jaina.

"Move aside."

"No."

"Please Jaina. My people are dying!"

"And more will die if you take this cursed blade! So no I'm not moving."

"Don't make me do this Jaina."

"Sorry. The only way to the blade Arthas, is through me."

"So be it."

Jaina pained to hear the immense change in Arthas's behavior. Before all of this he was playful, witty and always used to protect his people. Maybe the sight of his ravaged country land was too much for him to bear, thus leading to this condition of his.

Arthas took a battle stance and charged his maul with pure light energies. Jaina was surprised that the light still supported him at this point, but remembered that the powers of the light will continue to support a paladin as long as the paladin is sure that his path is the right one. She understood that in order to change his mind, she would have to go all out.

Summoning two large water elementals, she took up defensive positions behind them. The water elementals lacked logic, but did as their master commanded, as long as the master had power left inside of him. Once the master becomes weak, their bond breaks, allowing the elementals to go berserk. After all, they were made of pure energy.

Arthas felt amazed at the sight of the two bulky creatures in front of him. Jaina had improved incredibly from the last time he had seen her. But, so had he. Remembering that Mal'Ganis was still out there, he gave out a battle cry and charged. His heavy maul easily disposed off one of the elementals, causing Jaina to gasp in shock. Wasting no more time, she ordered the other to attack Arthas, while she resorted to shooting firebolts. However, as she only wanted to stop him or stun him, her attacks lacked power and it took Arthas little effort to subdue her.

Arthas shot her a triumphant look. Paying little heed to her falling form, he once again strode over to the blade. This time he discarded his maul, further strengthening his drive of the banishment of the undead.

"Arthas…"

He ignored her weak protests.

"Arthas please…."

He ignored her once again, for he was taking in the beauty of the blade. What he didn't know that she had silently crept up from behind him.

Seeing that her calls were falling on deaf ears, she did the only thing which she hoped would stop him.

Amassing the last of her magicks, she once again blasted the sword out of his hand. This infuriated him to no end. Swearing viciously, he turned around, all too ready to give Jaina a piece of her mind. But however. He did not expect a pair of lips coming crashing down on his own.

His eyes widened in amazement, for his brain had again temporarily shut down. He failed to remember the last time they had kissed. Somehow, he pushed that thought aside and started kissing her back. It was an amusing scene to watch. Two champions, kissing disregarding all their responsibilities while time was running out for the human race. There was so much heat and passion in the kiss that the cold winds around them failed to even bother their bodies. Their pent up frustration and anger was put into it, further enlonging their action.

What seemed like hours to them, they finally broke apart. Thankfully, Arthas had shoved all thoughts of Frostmourne to the back of his head while he concentrated on the maiden in front of him. Her blue orbs met his emerald ones. Managing a smile, she mentioned him to sit down. Ignoring the fatigue in his entire body, he somehow managed to obey her.

"So. Are you going to tell me why you don't want me from taking up that blade?"

"That is not an ordinary cursed blade, Arthas. That is the weapon of the Lich King." She took a dramatic pause in between the statements in order to create tension. She succeeded wonderfully.

"And where did you learn that exactly? I doubt that they teach this in Dalaran." The sarcasm in his voice was evident.

Giving out a long sigh. She spoke again.

"You are right. They don't teach this kind of stuff in Dalaran. Someone told me."

"Who?"

"That would be me." A voice had interrupted their conversation.

A man suddenly materialized in front of the duo. Arthas reached for his hammer but saw that it was still lying some feet away. As he attempted to retrieve it, his progress was impeded, once again by a pair of hands. Turning back, he saw Jaina beckoning him to sit down.

"Please try to listen to him Arthas. At least this time."

Arthas waited a moment before answering.

"Alright. Just this time."

He turned back to the newcomer. He was dressed the same way as he was dressed before. His shoulder plates had raven feathers on them while he wore a tunic and a long brown overcoat. His staff was impressive, along with the impeccable carving of a raven for its head. The stranger had shadowed his face with a hood, apparently for safety.

"We meet again, Prince Arthas."

"Who are you? And what do you want?"

"I am afraid that I cannot answer your earlier question, my lord. And I also want nothing from you. Just pay heed to my current warnings, and we can then both go our separate ways."

"Before you begin, are you the one who told Jaina about the blade?"

"Yes. It was I who told the princess about the blade of Ner'zhul. This blade was forged by the arch demon Kil'dajean himself, for The Lich King to use. It is a mighty weapon, used to steal souls. If you would have gone ahead with your plan, the blade would have corrupted you. Then you would have turned into the very creature you vowed to hunt down, paladin."

"This is preposterous!"

"No, it's not. The blade was originally part of the Frozen Throne. In other words, the prison of the Lich King. The power emitting from the weapon is very much beyond you current power, prince. If Miss Jaina had been a second late, we would have lost you forever."

Arthas turned to Jaina and mouthed a faint thank you to her. She returned a faint smile.

"After you left, He came for another warning. Thank God that I actually listened to you this time. I told Sir Uther about this, and he turned it down as 'madness'. But however, he did send the notice of withdrawal of the mission. But I think we both know how that turned out. So the only way remained was to come here myself. Thankfully he also tagged along."

Arthas turned back to the man. "What do we do now? The undead are advancing, and we lack an army strong enough to drive them back."

"Retreat. All of this was the Lick King's planning. Everything till now was planned. The plague. The orc rebellions. The sacking of Andorhal. The culling of Strathome. The challenge to come to the north. And this final siege. He wanted you to take the sword. By that you would have swayed to his side and the undead would have certainly gotten stronger. Make haste and listen to me now, Prince Arthas. Take your people and flee to the west. Once there, I will tell what your future beholds."

"Wait! How do we retreat? We don't have any methods of crossing the vast frigid seas!"

Jaina interrupted him again.

"It's taken care of, Arthas. I came with enough ships to bring the entire expedition back to safety."

With that, they rose to leave. As Arthas went forward to pay his last respects to Muradin, the prophet walked with him.

"Hurry, my lord. For the sands of time have run out. Hurry to the lands of the west. That is all."

With that, he morphed into a raven and flew away. Jaina waited for him at the entrance of the chamber.

"Where is your maul?"

"I don't want it." His tone was flat, as if completely determined.

"And why is that?"

"I don't want to use the weapon which I used to wound you."

Jaina was dumb struck. The response was completely unexpected.

Seeing her shocked expression, Arthas gave her a small smile.

"Let's go."

* * *

That's it. The first chap. Drop me line about it will ya? Criticism is welcomed along with praise.

So review!


	2. Voyage

**Chapter 2 **

The strong waves lashed against the wooden hull of the ship strongly, causing it to sway slightly to the side. There were still minor chunks of ice still floating around, even though the climate had drastically improved. The wind was merciless as ever, lashing out every now and then. Most of the men of the expedition were huddled below the desks, most having sporting varying cases of frostbite, hypothermia and high fever. All except a few. One of them stood regally at the bow, his cloak also flowing in what seemed like a regal way. A lone yet small figure crept up from behind him.

"Arthas…."

"Yes, Jaina?"

"You should really get those fingers of yours treated. They have literally turned blue."

Arthas paused to look down at his own appendages. True to her words, they had indeed turned a sickly blue, showing that there was hardly any blood left in that part.

"It does not hinder me. Those men below are in greater need….."

"But you the priority."

"They have suffered more."

"You have suffered tenfold, Arthas. Listen to me!"

Arthas turned around and gave her a sad smile.

"I am."

"No you're not. You are their leader Arthas! If something happens to you, they'll lose their morale!"

"Nothing's going to happen to me."

"Yes it shall. If you leave these wounds unattended, it shall rot away your fingers. Go, Now."

The tone of command seemed strange, but Arthas obeyed it nevertheless. He had to admit, he was clearly helpless before her, succumbing to her every order like some dog to his master. He never minded it though, for he was far too happy to make it here alive. Jaina had taken it upon herself to narrate every detail of the Legion, a monstrous and never ending army which had consumed countless words before their own. Their motives were unclear, but one thing was clear. They were going to attack here, and no one would be able to stop their arrival. Their strength was itself legendary; there were myths that even as you slew one, three more monsters would take the former's place. There were more stories which described their bloodlust so great, that the sky used to be tainted by it. Later, it would burn and then would rain down monstrosities to help the conquest itself. And it was said that the leader of the monstrous army was so powerful itself that the very ground he used to walked used to die. His name was forbidden to be uttered, even forbidden to be written.

Bringing himself out of his stupor, Arthas found himself in his quarters, while Jaina was bustling around, apparently finding ointments for his fingers. Her face had a tired look, apparently from their hasty retreat. Fortunately, they were able to pull back without further delay, with almost nil losses. Arthas chuckled to himself as he thought how angry Mal'Ganis would be, seeing that his well laid plan go down the drain.

"There. All done."Jaina uttered, as she knotted the final of the bandages.

"Ow! That hurt!" Arthas had put on a playful tone, and had even pouted. It would be an understatement to say that he looked cute.

"Quit it…...Baby."

Arthas pouted again. Laughing, Jaina came over and sat next to him. It was a sickening silence, because a certain memory of a lip lock surged through both of their minds.

"You wound me." Arthas managed to speak out. His voice was still a normal tone, which was an achievement in itself.

"Stop it!"

They both sat down on the bed, facing each other. A pregnant silence was in the air, until Arthas spoke out.

"Jaina, I wanted to ask you something…"

"What is it?"

"Why did you come all the way to Northrend to save me? I mean" he faltered, seeing the hurt expression on her face." Everyone thought that I had gone mad, misguided by anger, blinded by vengeance. But still you came. You believed in me. You showed me the path. You brought me back. Why? What have I done to deserve all of this?"

Jaina sighed. She thought that it was something else. A knot which had entangled in her stomach gave way for free thinking.

"Because I knew that no one would. I mean someone had to do it, right?"

Arthas winced inwardly. He did not expect this answer. He tried his best to hide his disappointment, but failed.

However, Jaina did not notice it. She continued with her earlier dialogue, acting as if there were no distractions.

"Even if someone else had gone, I would have come with them too."

"What am I to you, Jaina?" Arthas repeated his earlier question.

"To me? A childhood friend, a nuisance, a prince, soon to become a king, a best friend-"

Arthas felt his innards going numb at her words. He felt as if someone had gripped his inner organs and was twisting them hard.

"- and the only man I've ever loved." She finished, giving him a smile.

Arthas was shocked. He had not expected the conversation to turn around like this. He managed to stutter out a dazed 'what' before she brought herself before him and gave him a wonderful kiss. The problem was that Arthas was still too dazed to kiss her back. She noticed this and gave him a questioning look.

"I must be dreaming…."

She chuckled before answering him with another kiss.

"No you're not."

"Are you sure of this Jaina? Do you really want to be with me?"

She really wanted to hit him, but remembering his fatigued and injured state she decided against it. She also remembered that Arthas was a bit thick-skulled, a fact that she had conveniently forgotten.

"Yes, I am Arthas. There isn't any other person that I entrust my love to."

"I'm honored." He replied, this time a bit with more gusto, before he kissed her again."Can you remind me why we stopped this earlier?"

"It was your stupid decision. You decided to put it off until you became a king while I became a full-fledged sorceress." Her voice held a tone of hurt, while her eyes had a bit of fire in them.

"My apologies. Can I make it up to you?" Arthas had a devious smirk.

Returning it, she said in an equally devious voice. "Of course you can."

* * *

Later at night, a lone figure stood again at the bow, this time, it had wrapped a blanket around itself. The frame was quite small, yet still it withstood the mild yet unending lashes of the cold air. The ships had anchored, finding that they needed to repair the damage to one of their hulls. The damage was undoubtedly due to a hidden iceberg, which was able to tear off a side portion of the hull clearly off, sending the target ship off balance. The ship had immediately stopped. The captain of the injured vessel had pleaded with Jaina to continue with the return journey, but being the ever so stubborn lady, she had ordered everyone to stop. Arthas seconded her decision, saying things like building more trust, keeping friends closer. The last statement brought back unpleasant memories for her.

A pair of hands encased the figure from behind, which turned into an embrace. Later Jaina found herself staring into Arthas's emerald orbs.

"What are you doing up here Jaina? And at this time?"

Jaina shook her head. "It's nothing Arthas. I just came up here for some fresh air."

"Jaina…this fresh air is dangerous if exposed to it for a long time you know. In fact you were the one who told me."

"I know. But I just….want to be here."

"Jaina. You can tell me what's bothering you."

Jaina fell silent. She turned back to face the ocean, her hands firmly clasping the cold wood of the boat."You know what's bothering me Arthas."

"Is it them?"

"Yeah. It's them. I really don't know how could be so stubborn?"

* * *

**Flashback**

_Arthas and Jaina materialized from the waygate leading to Frostmourne. The was base was still thankfully standing, along with most of its occupants. However, just as they materialized, an undead attack waved lashed at their defenses. Arthas's right hand man and most trusted follower, Captain Falric spotted them immediately spotted them and came rushing over._

_"Prince Arthas! What is Lady Proudmoore doing here? And where is Muradin? We cannot hold against the undead any longer, my lord!"_

_"Calm down Falric. This is not the time for answers. For now, we have to repel this attack wave. Meanwhile, I want you to gather the rest of the force by the bonfire post haste! I have an important announcement to make."_

_Falric nodded. He never questioned his prince and his long time friend. Even if he found these orders quite strange, he obeyed them nevertheless. Just then, he noticed the absence of a weapon in Arthas's hands._

_"My price! Where is your weapon? Did you find the blade? OR did you lose your maul? Do you want another?"_

_Arthas shook his head and mentioned him to carry out his orders. Not even hesitating, he saluted and went off to carry his orders._

_Jaina looked at his retreating figure. She turned to Arthas._

_"Quiet obedient, isn't he?"_

_Arthas smiled. "He should be. He's my right hand and my closest friend I've got here. That is, apart from you."_

_"We'll worry about that later. Shall we deal with those monstrosities first?"_

_"I was about to mention the same."_

_Jaina twirled her staff in response. Even if Arthas lacked a weapon, he was well experienced in fighting without his weapons. He charged up his fists with holy powers. Giving a nod towards the attackers, he saw that a group of sorceresses were trying immensely to hold the invaders back, but were too tired. Knights were also present, but one swipe from the bulking abomination was enough to ground them._

_"HOLD-YOUR- GROUND! PRICE ARTHAS TRUSTS US TO HOLD THIS GATE! WE SHALL NOT FALL!" One of the Knights shouted over the din of clashing metal._

_Arthas charged into the fray, dealing a massive blow to a skeleton, which crumbled immediately against his light powers. A necromancer turned to look at him. The face of the undead caster turned into a leer, as he brought his staff back to unleash a spell. Arthas was still many years away from him, which spelt certain death for him. Just as his mouth opened, his torso was blasted opened from a blast, which sent the frail man immediately into the chasm of death. Arthas turned back and mouthed a faint thank you to Jaina._

_"Move over Arthas. Pull your men back. Let me handle them."_

_"Are you sure?"_

_"Certainly."_

_Arthas gave her a fleeting glace, and then ordered his army backwards into the relative safety of the archer posts. Turning back he saw that the very air around Jaina was shimmering, as if the entire air had condensed. The land in front of her was barely visible, as it had disappeared under the cover of a thick mist. He had seen this only once before- when he was desperately trying to hold the town of Hearthglen from the undead waves. Soon, thick chunks of ice rained down from the sky, completely blanketing the area in front of her. The voices which came from the misted area made his stomach churn. As the mist lifted, the undead army was scattered. In pieces- as in body pieces._

_With that, Arthas ordered the rest of his force to retire to the bonfire. As he approached the position, Falric was immediately by his side again. However, a peculiar sight caught his attention. Turning towards Jaina, he saw that she had noticed it too._

_"Why are those dwarfs…glaring at us?"_

_Falric was quick to answer._

_"I do not know the exact reason, my lady. It seems that they are extremely suspicious of you. And they are incessantly inquiring about Muradin, Prince Arthas."_

_"Hmmm. What did you tell them?"_

_"To assemble by the fire."_

_"Good."_

_Arthas signaled for everyone's attention._

_"My friends, I have an importance announcement to make. I doubt that anyone of you knows Lady Proudmoore here, who has come all the way from Dalaran to Northrend for just one thing. She hastened over the vast oceans to tell me just this- our expedition here was an ambush. "Arthas pauses, for the gasps from the audience were loud."Yes. It is the truth. I've seen it myself. This force of the undead that the miserable mongrel commands- the same person who ravaged our country land; is just a fraction of the force of the undead. As you may have heard earlier, I had gone to retrieve a powerful artifact. A blade to be exact, to tip the odds in our favor. However, I was misled. That was nothing more than an instrument of the real master of the undead. The very dark energy resonating from the blade was enough to strangle the very life out of you. That couldn't be possible our salvation. Now, thanks to Lady-"_

_A thick accented voice cut his speech. "Wha' abou' Muradin, laddie?" The speaker was undoubtedly, a dwarf._

_Arthas took in a long breath before continuing. He decided that the truth won't help much here._

_"Muradin Bronzebeard was killed during the battle for retrieval of the blade."_

_Arthas ignored the startled cries._

_"But make haste, Lady Proudmoore has revealed to me another thing. An ancient prophecy, dark, yet forgotten due the fear it instills. As we leave for Lordaeron, how much ever I would love to wait over there, along with you all, I simply cannot. For the prophecy that I spoke of earlier, mentions that the entire force of the undead, unstoppable and unforgiving, shall invade the country in less than two seasons. For that, we have to flee to the far western land of Kalimdor, just to ensure our safety. Remember the more time we waste here, the more time is running out for humanity. WE HAVE TO REACH THE SAFETY OF KALIMDOR. When we dock at Lordaeron, I beg you. Try to convince as many of your relatives as you can. Try to tell them, to flee with us. My father won't agree with this. That is why I have to tell you all of this now. We have to survive. That is all. Now we have a fleet ready for departure at the shores. Make haste and pack up. Carry as much as you can. We shall require the supplies- sooner or later. Make haste men!"_

_With that, the crown immediately burst into action. Jaina noted that they were extremely loyal to Arthas, never questioning him. They simply rushed back to their tents and started bringing the camp down. Meanwhile something caught her eye. A group of people was standing still amongst the orderly chaos. And all of them were glaring at her._

_"Uuh, Arthas, why are the dwarfs glaring at me? Again?"_

_"Hmm. It seems that I have to intervene."_

_Arthas made his way to the stationary group, with Falric and Jaina at his heels. The dwarfs continued to glare at the approaching trio._

_"What seems to be the problem?"_

_"Whaddya' means whas' the problem? Don' play dumb with us laddie!"_

_"Tell us wha' realy happe' to Muradin! "_

_"I told you! He was-"_

_"Don' give us dat lad! If ya came out aliv' from that figh' he shoul' too!"_

_Arthas went quiet. He really had to come up with something._

_"This won't get us anywhere."_

_"LIKE HELL IT WILL! TELL US WHA' HAPPEN TO MURADIN!"_

_By then, Falric had his sword pointed at the dwarf's throat._

_"What your tongue, dwarf!"_

_The dwarf ignored him._

_"Wha' is this Arthas? Prophesy? Ya expext us to believi' that shite?"_

_"You believed the rumors about Frostmourne."_

_"Dat was anothe' thing. And ya expect us to believe her? How do we kno dat she isn't trickin' us?"_

_"Jaina is my childhood friend…"_

_"She may be yur friend, ma boy, but she clearl' aint ours."_

_Arthas grew exasperated._

_"Look we are running out of time here. More the time we waste, the closer we inch to death. WE have to move now. And you can trust her. Muradin would have."_

_"Dontcya' tell us wha' he would hav' done!"_

_"Look, are you coming or not?"_

_"We aint budging from ere! Not till we da truth!"_

_Arthas was shocked. But however, he did not have much more time to waste._

_"So be it."_

**End Flashback**

**

* * *

**

"I mean, cant they have come? No doubt they would be all slaughtered by now!" Jaina completed.

"Naah. I wouldn't worry about them. They survived earlier, they can do it again."

"Are you really sure, or are you telling that just to calm me down?"

Arthas gave her a smile. "It's the truth."

She returned it. "So Arthas, what are you going to do for your weapon? You can't fight bare fisted all the time."

"Yeah, I've thought about it. In fact I have an idea of a wonderful weapon right here."

"What are you going to use for it?"

This time Arthas gave her a huge smile. He then proceeded to remove a medium shaped pouch from his hip. Finishing his job, he passed it to her and mentioned her to open it. Her curiosity piqued, she opened the pouch, only to reveal….

"Ice. What's the meaning of this Arthas?" The tone of disappointment in her voice was evident.

"This is not ordinary ice. Try melting it."

Jaina raised an eyebrow, but refused to comment. Arthas was still smirking at her, looking as if she would fail.

"This is so stupid…."

Concentrating her energy, she felt a familiar warmth growing on her hand. She took a piece of ice from the bag and caught it in her flaming hand. After a few good minutes, she opened her fists. Her jaw almost hit the deck.

"This is impossible…"

"No its not. This is not ordinary ice. It is the same ice which was used to encase Frostmourne. I spent most of my energies purifying it. I picked up many of these pieces before leaving the cave."

"But…. I mean….. how?"

"The prophet told me that the icy tomb of the Lich King was made from conjured ice form the fiery depths of hell itself. It took considerable power in making these shards pure, just think how mush powerful the head of the legion would be."

"I won't worry about that now. Our main problem should be our withdrawal from Lordaeron."

"Yeah. But I rather doubt that they will welcome me with open arms. Moreover, when I make my suggestion, I will not hear the end of it."

"And with all that is going along, I rather doubt that you will be becoming anytime soon-"

Arthas gave a silent nod.

"But you'll always be my king….." She finished her statement.

* * *

**Had to leave the dwarfs**** behind... I have to set up the setting for the Warcraft:The Frozen throne**

**Let me tell you, i was really blown away by the reviews. 8 reviews! Thanks a lot! Woo hoo! The adds were welcome too. **

**The contest is still on, and no one yet has still managed to give out the correct answer. Please leave your answer in a SIGNED review, so that i can contact you for your answer. Dont forget, you have only one guess, and i dont want multiple guesses. If that's the case, the prize is forfiet! ( I am evil. MUHUHAHAHAHA) . Naah just kidding. Max three gusses. **

**I suggest that you all hurry up with the thinking part, cause the new Lich King will be unveiled probably after 2 or 3 chaps. So, keep guessing! I will be honest about my part of the bargain, so try!**

**And yeah, i actually need help. Not now, but i still need it. The help will be mostly be required later, but the announcement has to be done now. You see, i have not played World of Warcraft. I have only played the trial version, and that does not help much. So i'll require the help of some indivisuals who actually have completed the entire game. ( WOW: WOTLK) Not till Catalysm. Some people who have gone till lvl 80, etc. because i dont know what happens after lvl 20, and it sucks! I have to continuously refer WoW Wiki, and its such a pain in the rear. SO, if i had help, i could manage to update faster! Which is infact better for ya all! So, i shall feel better if some players, ( lvl 80 or close to it) contact me. message me, I wont require the help right away, but it will be better if we still got into contact. **

**Aah, and naturally, i will be willing to share spoilers with them too. Fair exchange, ya know.**

**And in case you are wondering why spoilers should be important, think again. I am going to change a majority of the plot, i.e some dead characters shall live, vice versa, some shall change sides, etc. **

**And please dont forget to drop a review! It makes me feel better. **


	3. Arrival

**Disclamer: I do not own the Warcraft series. Trust me, I dont. The only thing I own is this plot. **

* * *

**Chapter 3: Arrival **

The Chancellor arrived at the shores of the Azeroth, along with the rest of the ships. Most of the souls who had started the journey had returned safely, albeit a few had perished on the treacherous waters. Jaina, not wanting to waste any more time and more lives in the treacherous waters, had ordered to go the ships a t full speed ahead. Noting her worry, the winds carried her armada swift and safe to the shores of the much awaited continent. Arthas had mused that if they could go any faster, the maelstrom would lose its glory for the being the fastest.

The arrival was a mixed one. Jaina had not informed anyone of her expedition, and there was no one to welcome them at the port. Arthas had expected this, but finally decided that it was for their own good. The culling of Strathome was not a good event, and had raised some uneasy questions. Jaina had told him how the king had to somehow hide the truth from his subjects that their beloved prince had raised his weapon against his own subjects.

The men disembarked slowly, for the voyage had been taxing on them physically as well as mentally. A person left in the frozen wastelands of the north could easily lose his sanity, and Arthas's own expedition had proved that point. They were thankful to be back in a warmer climate, where the sun used to show its face and the White Lady (1) used to guide the night travelers on their way home. Where vegetation included all sorts of flora, and not frozen moss or long dead trees. Where the wildlife was divers, and not only polar bears, wolves, anarchids and undead monstrosities. Yes. They were thankful to the lord to be back. Upon seeing the troop's morale, Arthas decided to brief them again. They were loyal to him, and understanding to boot. They did not raise a voice against their prince, as they had seen what the undead were capable of. Jaina's legions were also swept on their feet by the very charisma of their future leader.

"All right men, we have finally reached our destination. We certainly have to thank the Light for our uneventful and safe voyage, so join me as I dedicate a prayer of thanks to the Almighty one."

Silence quickly invaded the ranks, just as the quills leaving an angry quill boar. Even Jaina was impressed by the amount of obedience Arthas got form everyone. A sudden pang was felt inside her body by just thinking of it. However, she quickly dismissed it. She couldn't be jealous at him for such a trivial thing. Not when he was her future husband. On the voyage back, they had consummate their bond, rediscovered their love. And the most interesting thing was-

A hand on her shoulder brought her attention away from her day dreaming.

"What happened, Jaina? You seemed as if you were lost."

"Ah- no it's nothing" She looked flustered, due to the fact she was caught red-handed, "please continue with your prayer. You need not stop for me."

"Jaina." Arthas had a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "The sermon had ended quite a while back. I dismissed everyone with further instructions. And you were-"

Jaina made a sound which surprisingly sounded as an 'Eep!'

Recomposing herself, she tried to change the subject"What did you tell them?"

"Nothing much, actually. Just what we had gone over before." Arthas was referring to the evacuation plan he had drawn up with her earlier.

"They are not going to be happy with this you know."

"I agree."

"I don't mean to be rude but-"she fastened her cape, tying the knot in front of her neck," but he culling itself came as a huge shock. Your father was immensely dejected with that event."

Arthas was attending to his grayish black plate armor. "Don't worry. I have taken care of it."

"What do you mean?"

"I was just telling the same thing to the troops. We just have to announce that we were victorious in our campaign. I mean- nobody can tell right? I can just add that we found a prophecy stating that they will return, and will scour this land of anything that lives and breathes. Things like that. We can't simply waltz back into the capital saying that we had to retreat, and we have to flee. They will crucify me on the spot- king's son or not. "

"Wow. And when did you think this up?"

"When you were day dreaming."

"HEY!"

* * *

Their arrival in the capital was a hushed event. Just as Arthas reached the capital city, he was welcomed warmly by his subjects. However, this was not the case with the nobles and the Silver hand. They gave him immense looks of anger and dismay. Arthas paid no heed and retreated into his quarters, with Jaina by his side. Immediately after his arrival, he was ushered into an appointment with the king, his father.

Entering the royal chamber, Arthas looked ahead to see that his father was impatiently waiting for his to come in. Sir Uther was still a ways away, but was glaring at his nonetheless. The same was applicable to the royal guard, the High Chancellor and the Regent lord. They shot his withering looks from their high posts, making no attempt to hide their fury. Arthas wasn't perturbed in the least, but there were formalities to be followed.

Kneeling down on one leg, be began,"Father, I have returned."

The look on King Terenas's face was a mixture of joy and care. He was overjoyed when he had heard that his son had returned safely, and victorious nonetheless. However, he did notice something amiss. Arthas had walked in without his weapon, and moreover he had walked in with not only his two trusted lieutenants, but also the most talented sorceress by his side, Jaina Proudmoore.

"Rise up, my son. Tell me. How did you fare up in the frozen wastelands of the north? And where is your weapon?"

"It was destroyed father, when I issued the final blow to the captain of the undead." Arthas kept his voice monotonous, as he rose up to meet his father's eyes. He used every trick in the book to keep the fact that he was lying. However, Sir Uther scoffed.

"Destroyed? A maul of a paladin destroyed? That too when he was issuing the final blow against a monster? Tell me my boy, has the northern wind frozen or addled your brains? A paladin's weapon could never be broken, especially by the dark forces. That is as long as you are still a paladin. Tell me something my boy, does the light still support you?"

Thankfully, the king intervened "That will be enough, Sir Uther. I will not be taken lightly when my only son has returned from his successful expedition from up the north. Believe me, you do not wish to invoke my wrath."

Sir Uther backed down immediately after hearing the sudden change in the tone." Yes, my lord."

After this, the king turned back towards his son.

"Now then my son, how did you fare up there?"

Arthas drew in a breath, steeling himself "The campaign was a success. The undead have been banished; their captain no longer walks this earth. However, as I was returning victorious from the duel, the spirits which were bonded to him were freed from his bondage, and one of them warned me. About a prophecy. He told me that they would return, more powerful than ever before. All the kingdoms would fall to his might, death would sweep the land. He also told me that the force I fought against was a fraction of the real force that is being commanded by that entity. So I urge you, father, please, we have to move towards the lost lands of Kalimdor. There we would find salvation."

There was an absolute silence in the chamber. Everyone was far too shocked to utter a single syllable. The amount of information that Arthas had passed was too great to comprehend. The king was the first to reply.

"A-are you sure of what you had seen or heard Arthas? These sorts of decisions cannot be taken easily. And are you sure that your source is trustworthy?"

"I am sure father. The amount of those monstrosities we faced up north was far too great, and it sends a chill down my spine when a thought of that force being a part of the real one goes through my mind. In this case, I was able to believe anything about them."

Uther spoke up again"Preposterous! You have clearly gone insane, boy!"

"Even if that was the case Uther, but the fact remains that we have to act. If we simply stay put, we will be only be handing this world over in a silver platter."

There were a few murmurs of agreement through the crowd. Half of the senate was nodding their heads in approval.

"How can this be? You had yourself said earlier that their leader was slain!"

"I told you that he was just a captain of the real force! And that force is marching against us this very moment! We have no time! We have to migrate towards the lands of Kalimdor immediately!"

Uther shook his head "This is madness! (2)"

It only took Arthas one look at his surroundings to know that his cause was lost.

"Fine. Keep it that way. Don't say later that I didn't warn you."

With that, he turned on his heel and headed towards the door. However, a voice stopped him.

"Son, Wait. You yet have to tell us yet the reason for Lady Proudmoore's presence here."

After one hour of verbal battles, a genuine crept up Arthas's face.

"Father, that should not such a big problem to understand."

The king was taken aback. "Y-you mean y-you-"

"Father, we both wish to get married to each other. "

The whoop of joy which emerged from the king surprised everyone, even Arthas.

* * *

**(1) The moon from the Warcraft world is given this name.**

**(2) You cant believe how hard it was for me to not to write "This is Sparta!" over there.**

**First of all, THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS! I really loved them, mark my words. Still do. Yeah, thanks for the adds too. **

**There are a few things I want to clear before going on to other stuff.**

**I know that this chap is small and sucky, but I had to put this stuff outta the way for the future.**

**Arthas and his father had a very good father-son relationship. Cause in W3:ROC, one of his dialogues is: " For my father, the King!" That should be self explantatory about the bond between them. So please dont bug me for that.**

**Arthas shall be getting his new weapon soon, dont worry.**

**So, since these things are out of the way, lets go on to the next thing: The Contest. **

**The Lich King ( or soon to be Lich King ) shall be unvieled next chap! That means, you all have only one more chap to guess correctly!No one yet has given the correct answer, so the contest is still very much on. **

**The common choices were: Illidan, Kael'thelas, Uther (O_o). No, these three are definately not going to the next in line. My choice is unique!**

**And i think someone had suggested King Terenas. That is the wrong answer, but it cracked me up! Lol. **

**Drop in your final answers in your reviews! I repeat the prize is the spoilers for most of the fic, so it is not a useless contest! Keep guessing!**

**Please review! I love em, and it hardly takes one minute to do so. **

**And it has come to my attention that severals such 'good Arthas' fics have suddenly popped up. I dont have anything against them, but IF anyone, I repeat, anyone, dares to steal my idea for the Lich King and future stuff, there shall be hell to pay. You then shall expect a virus from me each day if you do that. ( Yes, I am evil. ) Beware!**

**Lol. That was fun to write, but seriously, dont steal my idea. That would suck. A lot. **


	4. New Developments

**Chapter 4: New Developments**

**

* * *

**

The person stood at the balcony, taking in the surroundings.

The sky was an inky black, although punctuated by white dots and a snow-white sphere. The smoke rose up continuously from the city, polluting the air ever far so slightly. The view was worth dying for, for the sight of the entire capital city was simply amazing. Words used to fall short in order to describe the very feeling that people used to get when seeing such a sight. Not many people used to get the chance to feast their eyes on this image.

Naturally, not many people weren't of noble heritage also.

Arthas was still gazing out of the balcony when he heard someone coming up from behind him. The clumsiness of the stepping was absent, so that ruled out Jaina. The footsteps didn't resonate off the wall- canceled out Uther. Instead they were soft- almost unheard of. Only one person was capable of them.

"Father."

"Son." King Terenas acknowledged him.

"What is the matter, father? Is sleep eluding you?"

"Yes. It seems that my time has come…..Sleep no longer calls out to me-"

"Father. Don't talk like that."

"Arthas, you know that as well as I do that my time in this world is rapidly fading away. Moreover, as you say it, the monsters shall attack soon, won't they?"

Arthas fell silent. He turned his gaze back to the sky, unable to find a suitable answer. Ignoring his silence, the king continued.

"You're leaving soon, aren't you?"

Arthas felt his heart ache at that statement. He never wanted to leave his country, his homeland, his people and mostly, his family. The mere thought of leaving was unfathomable to him. However, he had to do it…..for a better future.

"I'm sorry…father, but I have to."

"I don't blame you son. You have always strove for the better welfare of your people. I can't be mad at you for that. That thought is simply ridiculous. Actually, I am quite proud of you."

'This was unexpected.'

"You're…not…mad at me?"

"I can never be mad at you, my son. Whatever your action were, it never ceased to amaze me. I think that you being my son were the biggest blessing I received. Let's stay away from this uneasy conversation now. What are you going to do about your weapon?"

Surprised by the change in topic, Arthas took some time answering.

"It's still being prepared in the smelters. It lacks materials and until they are procured, the work cannot proceed…..and it is just days from the departure."

The king looked thoughtful.

"What have you used in the production of your weapon?"

"I found several valuable ores...in the north. The metal is quite wondrous, able to withstand the toughest of pressure yet still not break or bend. Apart from that, Thorium and titanium are used to a greater extent. All that is lacking is blessed quicksilver."

The king remained silent for awhile, and then reached for the harness that was attached to his back. He dislodged the long sword that was resting on it and jammed the hilt into Arthas's hand.

Arthas was dumbstruck. His father never allowed anyone to claim his long sword, let alone touch it. The blade was used in the second war, and it had served a mighty purpose. The amount of enchantment that was placed of the blade was alone staggering; it was as holy as it could ever be. Even after many years of rest, the blade had not been dulled, and it still retained its luster. The moonlight shined off the edge, in a similar fashion to the earlier cursed blade. Arthas felt comfortable warmth creeping into him, by just clasping its handle.

"Father…this….."

"Take it." HIs tone was firm, and it left no room for argument." I won't be needing this now, and I know that you shall make much better use of it. And I doubt that the Silver Hand will be willing to bless a new weapon for you, after all that you have done, they took it as a personal insult to them. I don't mind them, and I know that you shall make wonderful use of this. There isn't anyone else in this continent that I would trust this blade with."

Arthas looked down at the shimmering blade, then back at his father.

"Thank you for trusting me, father. Your blessing is all I need."

"You always had my blessing, Arthas."

* * *

Anasterian Sunstrider woke up from a hellish nightmare.

The last time he had seen such nightmares were when the blasted trolls had attacked with their endless army. Which were later supported by the Horde.

Breathing heavily, he tried to bring back his focus. Just as he closed his eyes, the nightmares flashed in front of his eyes again, forcing him to keep them open. A strong chill ran down his spine, making him shiver in the hot summer wind.

It was the same as before. The cries of his people resonating, the forests burning, and towers getting reduced to rubble…the list was endless.

He was a warrior and a mage. And the king of the high elves. He hated to be impulsive, but the last time he had such a dream and ignored it had far reaching consequences.

His instinct won this time.

Pacing around in his massive bedchamber, he tried to think of a solution out of the impending doom. Who could even be invading at a time like this? The trolls were almost extinct; the humans were honoring their treaty. And were celebrating the return of their prince. The orcs were far too less to be bothered. Then who?

Unable to find a suitable answer to that question, he skipped over to the next one. What to do now?

He had to do something. That was certain. Standing around doing nothing wasn't going to help either. If there would be an attack similar to the last one, he highly doubted that the elf gates would stand. Yes, they were masters of energy manipulation, but those powers would vain against an unending army. They simply needed to increase their forces- that was the only option available.

But the senate would never accept it. They would call his ideas absurd; his visions- hallucinations. Later they would call him delusional and demented- which would lead to another struggle for the crown. The last thing that Anasterian needed was a struggle for the crown. The senate was nothing else but full of greedy nobles- who just wanted only one thing in the world- power.

He would require something. Something that would make the humans help them again. Something that the senate won't object much to. A decision that also won't disappoint his people.

Just then, the idea that clicked into his inner self caused him to crack a grin.

* * *

Magini Bronzebeard was sweating.

The heat from the oven was excruciating. He had half a mind to call one of his mages to cast a chilling barrier on him. But no- there was work to be done.

The pupil of his brother stood beside him, patiently withstanding the immense heat, an expectant look on his face. After all, it was not every day when the finest blacksmith in the world, and the king of Dwarfs made a fine weapon for the Prince for the human kingdoms.

Arthas had come to him, along with a big guilty look upon his face. After some minor enquiries, he had asked for a weapon. Magini had his doubts, and didn't fail to voice them down. A few minutes later, Arthas broke down and had confessed everything. With that, his respect for the prince grew even more. When Arthas saw that he was not angry with him, he was sorely surprised. When asked, he gave a mighty chuckle.

"Don't worry, my lad. It was a death that Muradin would have wanted. He almost killed himself out in those stupid expeditions of his! I am just glad that you were there to perform his last rites."

Arthas gave out a long breath.

"And don't worry! I'll make the finest weapon for ya! Take it as an early wedding gift!"

He still remembered Arthas's blush.

Bringing his thoughts back to the present, he saw the long sword had finally melted, and the quick silver was radiating off its heavenly presence with is ethereal shine. He wasted no more time in removing the melted material, and poured it into the mould. The design was his personal favorite, and Arthas had liked it immensely.

The metal was quickly mixed with the remainder of the molten liquid, which was still kept in a container near the oven. The mixture was a thick grayish white, and incredibly thick. When Arthas had showed him the new metals procured from the north, Magini was quick to name it elementum. It was a worthy name took. It withstood all the fatigue of the elements quite heavily, and was useful down to its very small fraction. What had surprised him were the ice fragments. Even in the sweltering heat, they HAD refused to melt down, which baffled the wits out of the Dwarf king. Never ever before, he had seen such a thing, not even when he had visited the violet citadel. The fragments simply sat there in the mixture, rock solid, as if they were glaring back at him and mocking his foolishness. His eyes grew even wider when he felt the mixture growing cold and hardening.

The result: Arthas had to deal with a very angry dwarf, who had a colorful vocabulary of curses.

Finally, Arthas took the lead himself and took out the pieces of ice from the lukewarm mixture. Remembering the way he had cured them out of their cursed nature, he applied the same process again. It was taxing on his energy reserves, and he felt himself growing weak at every passing event. Finally after charging numerous fragments with the light, they finally gave way to becoming liquid. Flashing the stunned Magini a triumphant smile, he asked if there were anymore. He was responded with more fragments which were immediately shoved into his palms. The color drained from his face at the sheer number of them, and he felt a twinge of annoyance as he heard Magini's laughter.

The formation of the weapon did not take long after that. Arthas melted the rest of the fragments, which left him weakened. Magini had to summon one of his mages, who immediately conjured up fresh water for the prince. The remaining process was quite speedy, as the mixture took its former temperature quite readily. An hour later, the mixture had already been poured into the mould. Magini brought the half finished blade over to the great anvil, where he took out one of his finest hammers. The blows of the metal against metal resonated quite loudly in the room, surprising its inhabitants. The blows finally receded, and Magini fed the weapon to the forge one more time. Then, he removed a blessed whetstone and sat down to sharpen the edges. Arthas looked over from the other edge of the room quite expectantly, as the huge frame of Magini was blocking the view. The dwarf had forced him to stand his ground, wanting the weapon to be a surprise for him. Magini sharped the edge of the blade to a fine edge, which he made sure that would cut through anything, even air if it wanted to. He then shuffled with the weapon towards the forge the final time.

Suddenly, as the weapon was heating up, a shockwave emerged from it, dowsing out all the lights of the room. The most surprising thing was that it reduced the immensely hot furnace to just a pile of frozen stones. The temperature also dropped, and the inhabitants of the room saw that they had begun to expel mist from their mouths.

Managing a smile, Magini turned towards Arthas, who had a huge grin along with an expectant look upon his face. With the sight of the blade, his eyes widened to the size of wide saucers.

The sword was double edged, which was a common factor, but the way it was done gave the sword its beauty. The color was metallic silver, without any flaws in between. The sword had actually two tips, and the ends resembled those of a burning flame. One side of the weapon had an upward shaped spike, and a smooth curve followed it. It tapered slightly in the end where it broadened again for the tip of the magnificent weapon. The other side had a spike which was facing outwards, and then the rise of the sword resembled that of a mountain, but with a pointed edge. Again it narrowed down, before it broadened again for the tip of the sword. The sword had a chilling aura around it, similar to the Frostmourne, but the dark aura was replaced by an aura of the light which was similar in strength. The hilt was symmetrical, and had intricate design carved into it. The entire hilt was golden, although flashes of silver punctuated it, which further enhanced its beauty. Then again, similar to the Frostmourne, the blade was continuously spewing what seemed like bluish ice cold mist. Runes decorated the central part of the blade, further strengthening it.

Magini handed the blade to Arthas, who seemed as if he was daydreaming. He chuckled to himself, and snapped is fingers in front of his to get his attention.

"Hey there lad! Don't marry the blade! Here! Try it out." With that, he hefted another of his creations, a fine maul of thorium. Holding it in midair, he mentioned Arthas to strike it. And he did so.

Thunk.

The maul slid on the floor in two pieces, both frozen solid. They were cut cleanly off at the center, and Arthas was smirking. Magini was dumbstruck.

"That is some weapon! What ya wanna name it?"

Arthas looked thoughtful for a moment, before answering.

"Ravenfrost."

* * *

A few days later, two figures stepped out of portals that had opened. As fate would have, both stepped out at the same time. However, their figures were not the same.

One was unmistakably male, his immense plate armor a testament to that fact. A huge sword was as this side, along with a gloved hand on it. His black hair was tied in a ponytail, which was dangling behind his huge frame. He was summoned here by his best friend, Arthas Menethil. He was Varian Wrynn, ruler of Stormwind.

The other figure was highly diminished in comparison to the first one. The beautiful face was half hidden by a hood, but the fact that she was a woman was blatant by her beautiful face. A longbow was attached by means of a metal harness to her left arm. Instead of being deck in mail or plate armor, she was covered in the finest leather armor, to lessen the weight. Only her pauldrons were of metal, which also supported a quiver on her back, by the means of a strap. Her elongated and tapering ears extended through the hood, revealing her high elf heritage. She was Sylvanas Windrunner, another childhood friend of Arthas, and was called here by the very same person. However, she was here for another reason also.

Varian and Sylvanas quick acknowledged each other, and followed the servants that were sent to fetch the. They followed them till they reached a metal edged door, which was twice the size of Varian. Pushing it open, Varian and Sylvanas stepped into an enormous room, which was, however, quite bare. Its purpose was simple: For training purposes.

Arthas was training at the center of the room, while Jaina watched him from the sidelines. As the door opened, Arthas immediately turned to see the newcomers. At the mere sight of them, his face grew into a lengthy smile.

"Varian! You have come at last!"

Sylvanas mocked annoyance.

"What about me, prince? Or is one woman enough for you?"

Arthas quickly moved to greet her too. The playful mannerisms of Sylvanas were quite famous. As he turned back to speak, Varian interrupted him.

"It's been a long time since we last met, my friend. So let's settle this the old way." With that, he removed his long sword from its sheath.

Sylvanas joined Jaina immediately, and engaged her in conversation.

Meanwhile, Arthas had removed his own weapon. Varian's eyes widened at the new weapon.

"Ooh! Shiny. Does that serve as a toothpick?"

"You bet."

With that Arthas charged him. Varian expected this, but he grossly underestimated Arthas's newfound strength. He struggled to shove him away.

"My my. It seems that you have grown Arthas!"

"You haven't seen anything yet."

Sliding his blade down the edge of Varian's sword, Arthas, lunged again. Varian jumped back, but was forced again to be on the defensive as Arthas simply went on slashing at him. The more he blocked or deflected, the more his strength lessened. He knew the outcome of the battle, but still tried a counterattack.

The sound of metal hitting the floor was quite audible, as Arthas had dislodged Varian's blade.

"You lost."

"Amazingly, yeah. But this was the only time you won, and it won't happen again. So watch out!"

"Keep on dreaming. I can kick you behind anytime now."

Varian was about to retort, but was interrupted by a shout.

"Hey! Are you two bozos going to chat all day long? There are two ladies here!"

Shaking their heads, they both went on to join them. Just as they reached them, Sylvanas was the first to speak up.

"Is is true Arthas? Jaina says that you are incredible in bed! I would love to join you someday."

Arthas and Jaina immediately chocked, Varian laughed, and Sylvanas fought tooth and nail to not to laugh at her own joke.

"Shut up Sylvanas! I said nothing of the sort!"

"But you said-" she nearly whined.

"I said that he is a good man! Nothing else!"

"It's the same!" her jocular tone was completely in contrast with her innocent face.

"No its not!"

"Yes it is!"

Just before Sylvanas opened her mouth, a page entered the room, and summoned Arthas and Sylvanas to the Great Hall.

Their entrance was quiet. Multiple pairs of eyes gazed down at the four people who had entered the room. No one spoke a word. Arthas and Sylvanas walked forward and kneeled down in front of the king. Just as he was allowed to rise, a senate member started to speak.

"It has come to our notice that you will be planning your wedding soon, Prince Arthas."

"Yes, I shall."

"Before you go ahead, a certain proposal was sent to us by the King of the High Elves, Anasterian Sunstrider. It seems that that they need our help again."

"What has this got to do with my personal matters?"

"Patience is a virtue, Prince. However, we cannot rush to the aid of every kingdom on mere whims can we now? Thus in order to safeguard his kingdom, the king of the high elves came forward with a proposal. A proposal that we, the senate and the house of nobles considered was too good to be neglected. This proposal was accepted by us, just moments before your arrival, Prince."

"And pray tell me, what is this proposal?" Arthas hated the direction where this conversation was going.

"The only way to bind two kingdoms is quiet simple, Prince. I'm surprised that you haven't even caught until now."

"What is the meaning of this?"

"The decision has been passed. You, Arthas Menethil are supposed to accept Sylvanas Windrunner, Ranger General of the High elves as your second wife."

* * *

The room was filled with a stunned silence. Never before Arthas's own chamber was this quiet. The four people had sat down, too shocked to say anything. Arthas was torn between rage and sorrow. Jaina was downright confused, and Varian did his best to calm Arthas down. Sylvanas had a guilty look on her face. Arthas spoke first.

"You knew of this Sylvanas?"

Her voice was almost a whisper.

"Yes. I was not given any choice in the matter too. I was told that it would mean a better future for the elves. They also took away the command of the army from me. So now, I have nothing to turn back to."

Arthas nodded at her.

"I don't blame you. The senate is quite troublesome sometimes. But I am not angry with anyone for that matter."

This drew the attention of every person. He simply looked at Jaina.

"Is it alright with you, Jaina? Can you cope with this?"

"I have to, I guess. I always thought that you would have multiple wives sometime. I had prepared myself for it. I don't mind it much. Even more, it's just Sylvanas right?"

Arthas looked immensely relieved. On the other hand, Varian put on an extremely dejected face.

"How is that you get the best looking girls around here Arthas? You are so lucky!"

The tension that had formed around the four of them immediately disappeared, and everyone burst into laughter. Sylvanas then started to argue with Jaina about the 'possession' of Arthas.

"I am going to sleep with him tonight. So find yourself another bed."

"No way! Not happening. You can have him tomorrow."

"I am the new wife. I have a greater right!"

"Not possible. He's mine!"

Varian was finding this extremely amusing. Arthas spoke up.

"Hey I am still here! How can you just claim me like I am some clothing article?"

This failed to have an effect on the two females, who were still squabbling. Huffing, Arthas turned to Varian.

"Can you stay here for a few days? It looks as if I shall need your help. And I need to tell you all something."

"Sure. I don't mind. Let Bolvar work for some more time….."

* * *

As the days passed, Arthas and Jaina told the both of them completely about their plans. To their surprise, both of them believed them, and even supported their plans. This really had caught them off guard. Arthas urged to Sylvanas to get her people to evacuate, but the response was in the negative.

"Why?"

"Because, my people won't leave their homeland so easily. They believe so blindly in the fact that the elf gates will protect them, thus ignoring everything else. I can at most bring some of my troops and their families. Moreover I even don't have the command over them, which complicates things."

"What about you Varian?"

"I'll stay at Stormwind. The scourge as you say it shall be taxed to just trek over to Stormwind to capture it. And Stormwind is not an easy target."

"I see. I hope you are sure about his, Varian. What we face here, is truly out of this world. Just keep the refugees from Lordaeron safe. "

"I will my friend. I will. Just keep me informed about your activities in Kalimdor."

"I can manage to do that. I have a hunch that we will need you over there later, so just keep your armor polished. You may never know."

"What shall you do after all of this? Lordaeron shall mostly be in ruins later."

Just when Arthas was about to answer, Falric burst through the door, out of breath. His action made everyone jump.

"What is the matter Falric? You seem as if you have seen a ghost."

Falric was struggling to regain his breath. He tried to speak out, but it was silenced by his loud intakes of air. Arthas stopped the question till his breathing calmed down.

"M-my lord! H-he has returned!"

"Who Falric? Who has?"

Falric took in a great breath before speaking up again.

"Muradin Bronzebeard."

* * *

**There are a certain thing I want to make clear, before you all start chasing me with pitchforks and whatnot.**

**The contest was won by Kibaikasu, so he has won the right to every spoiler for this plot! Hurrah for him! He was the first one who answered the question correctly, so the prize is rightfully his. **

**Then, the poll. Thank you all for you time and voting, and the result is as follows. **

**High Elf: 22**

**Banshee Queen: 6 **

**And the result is quite straightforward. Sylvanas shall continue as a High elf,and as I may add, Arthas's second wife. Dont worry, ArthasxJaina is still the main pairing. **

**Yes. High Elves were playful in nature, eg: if you click on the soceress unit in W:3 she says "Touch my baby, one more time." Or something of that sorts. So, this dialogue is selfexplantory, and I dont want ya flaming me for sylvanas being flirty. **

**Varian was Arthas's friend in the game earlier, that is until you know what happened. **

**I really dont know if Arthas was a friend of Sylvanas, but he had visited Quel'thelas earlier, so I just put it in. **

**Just serach up Anatheseran Sunstrider. He's going to be a major character soon, so read up on him in Wow wiki. **

**And remember! I asked you all about Sylvanas's future! I dont want any viruses or assassination attempts on me! Dont kill me for that!**

**Finally, I shall be needing other characters soon. I cant simply focus the entire fic on Arthas, that would seem a little stupid. So, I'm going to add characters, who shall be his friends of sorts. That is, they will go and finish up various raids, instances, etc. And they shall finish off the LK in the end. But they have to stick with Arthas, and they will be loyal to him and only him. No one else, so keep that in mind. **

**If anyone wants their own characters, platers, OCs here in this fic, send me their profile. Here is the list that I need. **

**Night elf- 1 female. male is me. (lol) Here the female must be a hunter, that is compulsary.**

**Blood Elf- 1 Male,1 Female**

**Tauren- 1 male and female**

**Orc- ( maybe ) 1 male and female**

**Troll- No**

**Dranei- 1 male and female**

**Dwarf and gnomes- Both 1 male and female. **

**Human- 1 male and female. **

**They shall work together, mind you. So no horde alliance discrimination here. If you are sending me the profile, send me their name, gender, class, race. I will try to put in everyone, but the introduction of the character shall vary. They shall kill the LK in the end! Its upto you all to decide. Romance between these charccters is allowed, but that shall be considered later ( we have a long way to go...) **

**I almost forgot! The classes must be balanced. Cant have everyone as a priest or a warrior...**

**REVIEW PLEASE! It takes a minute! **


	5. Forum

This is a small note regarding the last chapter. First of all, the character thingy is still on, so don't worry about it. It has struck to me that managing the characters of my readers shall be a difficult job indeed form the review page, so I decided to make a forum for it. Now, this forum is for the sole purpose of character creation and acceptance. The forum shall be there for a long time, since the story will also take a long time. The rest is explained at the forum. The name is:A Different Path, the same name as my fic...


	6. Exodus

**Chapter 4: Exodus **

Arthas's world stopped- it simply shut down for the lack of a better explanation.

The rest of the group went into lesser states of shock. From what Arthas had told them, they knew that Muradin had fallen. For what seemed like an eternity Arthas responded back. "Are you sure of what you have seen?"

"I made no mistake my lord. It was Muradin Bronzebeard, as clear as the sky."

With that, Arthas banged his hands on the table. "IT'S IMPOSSIBLE! I SAW HIM DIE!"

Everyone in the room was disturbed by that statement. Jaina had herself personally inspected the body for any flickering signs of life, only to find none. Having a massive hole in the neck as well as drowning in his own blood did not help him. Even if she had limited knowledge in the medical field, she was sure that having a fully ruptured esophagus and windpipe did not bode well for the victim.

On seeing her thinking posture, Arthas further questioned his captain. "Did you find any traces of him being revived in any way, Falric?"

"None, my lord. He seemed as healthy as the day, although his skin did seem a bit pale and his eyes….were bright blue and were….glowing."

"What? How is that even possible?" Varian interjected.

"Maybe he's under an illusion?" Sylvanas's tone was completely devoid of her playful nature.

"I am merely stating what I saw, my lord."

Arthas began to pace around in the room. "This is bad. Very bad…..I really don't know what can even go more wrong. First of all Muradin comes back from the dead, with no possible injury, that too on the day of our departure. What's next? Him becoming the next Lich King? Anyways, Falric. Did you see anything out of the ordinary? Any disturbing pieces of armor or weaponry?"

"I am sorry my lord. I didn't see anything disturbing on him except for some weapons. I then rushed here you to tell you the news before anyone else could do so."

"Elaborate."

"He had the same armor which he had in Northrend, my lord. However, along with a new set of a bluish glowing axe and maul, he also has a similar glowing sword which is harnessed on his back. The weird thing is, it continuously spews out the same icy mist as your sword does."

Those words shocked Arthas and Jaina to the core. That was enough evidence to prove that Muradin was not here on cause of friendly terms. Sensing their discomfort, their friends got ready for what lied ahead. Just when Arthas opened his mouth to issue another order, an eerie, mocking and a raspy voice was heard by all those present in the room.

_"Hahaha! Told you. My death would mean little….."_

That icy whisper of Kel'Thuzard was enough to send shivers down everyone's backs.

Just then, the doors of the chamber were thrown open again.

* * *

A group of four people was rushing down the marble hallways. Arthas led the way, with Jaina and Falric at his heels. The last person tagged behind them, as her newly polished plate mail slowed her down. She had two wonderfully crafted yet brutal looking long swords attached to her waist. Her waist length red hair was tied in a pony tail, keeping it somewhat formal yet comfortable. Her green eyes, which complimented her flawless face, were focused on the party in front of her, as she was ordered to bring them back to the King for an audience with the returned adventurer. Her name was Sarah Jade, a warrior of the highest levels, and Arthas's former training partner. She was famous for her flirty attitude as well as for her quick mouth. In contrast with her personality, she had never gone out on a date for a long, time, for reasons unknown. She was said to be a walking armory by herself. She always insisted on carrying multiple weapons and armaments, whatever the cause. Despite public opinion, she knew how to use them, efficiently.

Arthas was in his own world. He was trying to figure out how to break the news of Muradin's condition to his father before it was too late. Both Varian and Sylvanas had left with a hasty hearth, Varian returning to Stormwind to fortify it, while Sylvanas returned to persuade most of her troops to follow Arthas into the west. It would be a tough job for her, as she no longer was the Ranger-General of Silvermoon. Even if the command of her troops was taken away from her, she was sure that she would be able to persuade majority of the population with her. Jaina had given her a scroll which would enable her to return with her troops and people anytime, at their side. Arthas just hoped that she did not join in at a wrong timing.

Jaina was in deep thought as well. She had contacted her superiors at Dalaran, but the response was same. No one was ready to believe her, and instead called her a 'deluded youngling'. However, she was able to convince some of her earlier classmates, who were too eager to serve directly under Arthas.

Just then, all of them reached to massive doors of the Great Hall. Arthas opened them by himself, not wanting to wait for the soldiers who stood at the side. The soldiers saluted the group, and jumped back in respect. Arthas spared them a nod, and turned around, just in time to see Muradin plunge Frostmourne through his father's chest.

* * *

With that event, it all seemed a roller coaster ride into hell. Chaos erupted all around; as the small number of dwarfs that were present in the room threw open their cloaks, revealing deadly rifles. Within the minute, the senate and the council were missing their heads, or had it bashed in by a thrown hammer. Uther and the Silver hand activated their holy shields, while giving out a war cry and rushing into the heat of the battle. The dwarfs dropped their magical barriers, and their 'normal' melted away to show pale and a lifeless hue behind. Just when the undead seemed outnumbered, the marble flooring of the hall burst, and countless undead rushed through. The monstrosities were numberless, and within moments the entire hall was choked with their sheer numbers. All this time, Arthas was still in shock, as he had seen his father being murdered in front of his own eyes. He cursed himself for not being there earlier, and then cursed some more. But meanwhile, as he was brooding, he failed to notice the hammer that was sailing through the air towards him. Just when the hammer was about to reach the target, he was brushed aside by a red blur, which immediately crumpled against the mighty blow. Sarah did not last a moment longer, as the hammer was thrown by Muradin himself.

Sarah's death brought Arthas back to the present. He violently cursed again, but however, her drew his sword and started to make quick work of the invaders. Jaina was busy herself, her brilliance aura blaring, along with three enormous water elementals at her side. She blasted alternating bolts of fire and frost with deadly accuracy, felling a great many troops. Falric had entered into a berserker rage, making short work of those near him. Meanwhile the Silver hand was losing its ground slowly, along with a great many of its troops. Somehow, Uther's fight with Muradin had reached Arthas's position, who was freezing multiple enemies with a single swipe. He charged his sword multiple times with Light energies, thus burning the undead with pure light. The ghouls simply shriveled up, before getting reduced to a pile of frozen bones.

"Damm it there are too many!" He yelled out.

"We have to retreat!" Jaina yelled back.

Uther was still concentrating on his opponent, but managed to shout back,"How can you all even think of leaving? We have to defend our land!"

"We are heavily outnumbered Uther! We have to pull back now!"

"WE CANNOT! WE MUST STAND AND FIGHT!"

Arthas gritted his teeth in response as he dodged another slow yet flimsy strike by a ghoul. In retaliation, he simply thrust his sword into the opponent's skull, ending its torment. Immediately, he was forced to dodge a sword swipe by a skeleton. Seeing his opponent move backwards, the skeleton continued with a follow-up attack, but that was parried. Arthas immediately countered it, while sidestepping and driving his sword through the skeleton's ribcage, breaking the basic structure of the reanimated body. He whipped his head up to see that he was completely surrounded, by the 'abominations' nonetheless. Ghouls, he would manage, but 16 abominations was another thing in the whole. Seeing no alternative, he applied a move that he had merely learned a few months back. He thrust his sword into the ground and transferred his power into it. The surrounding enemies were immediately blown to chunks of flesh as the expanding nova of frost and light met them.

Jaina twirled her staff around both of her sides five times, while her elementals kept the undead off her. As she completed a twirl on both sides, a rune would light up in front of her, making the air in front of her glow blue by its light. Just when she finished her twirling, she had five glowing runes in front of her. She then caught her staff by both of her hands, holding it at a straight line with all the runes. She channeled her energy into the runes, activating the spell. It took a lot of her energy out of her, but with her brilliance aura, it was nothing more than a temporary setback. Just then the runes activated, expanding into an intricate circle with even more minute yet intricate runes filling it. The undead still lumbered on toward her, unaware of the threat that the spell posed. Just as they were about to reach her, each of the runes exploded into a blizzard, which attacked them in a horizontal direction. The resultant of those runes was having more than half of the room being void of any life. Within seconds, the room was again filled to the brim with undead.

"Damm it Uther! WE have to leave! NOW!"

Just as Uther opened his mouth he fell to the ground lifeless, courtesy to a dwarf who had been hiding. He held a smoking rifle in his hand. Wasting no more time, Muradin plunged Frostmourne into Uther's gut, extracting his soul.

Arthas was downright furious. Muradin had killed many people, people that he loved. The sight of them made him go mad with rage, and with hateful eyes, he charged Muradin himself.

"Hahaha! Did you think that you could even stand up against me?" For some reason, his voice had a distinctive echo to it."You will never manage to beat me Arthas, for that is the sheer difference between out powers. And thanks to you, I was finally able to lay my hands on Frostmourne! I must really thank you for that!"

"SHUT….UP!"

Muradin easily swatted his attack aside, sending him towards the ground, while Muradin continued to mock him."It was careful planning lad. After all, the case of Frostmourne would not open until someone powerful enough, someone whose powers of the light rivaled the necromantic energies of Ner'Zul! I knew no one will come up there, so the Lick King and I planned all this. From the start to the end, it was all planned. It started with me teaching you-"he lazily blocked his incessant swipes."Then the plague, Mal'Ganis's 'invitation 'to the north. Our 'chance' meeting there….I cannot thank you enough lad, for joining me with the Lich King. Soon enough, his will shall be imposed and the whole of Azeroth shall know of his wrath! Come feel the fury of the Lich King!"

With that, Arthas charged once again, but this time, Muradin neatly sidestepped and delivered a harsh kick to his ribs. Just when he went on to finish his job, Jaina blinked in front of him, caught him by his shoulders and blinked back towards the entrance.

"FALL BACK TOWRADS THE SHIPS! FALL BACK!" she yelled, before vanishing with another teleportation spell.

* * *

The whole of the capital city was under attack, the undead having sneaked through the sewers. The defenders were taken by surprise, and fell fast. Those who survived immediately followed the flow of the retreating troops. As a result, many of them fell to the dwarfs's aim. As the refugees reached the dock, they were relieved to find multiple ships, waiting to be embarked, with their Prince in the lead ship. The arriving people were immediately herded into proper groups by multiple High elves, who were also patrolling the dock. They had arrived, just as the initial batch of refugees poured in. Arthas and Sylvanas made haste and immediately assigned them their duties, while Jaina overlooked their departure.

However for some eerie reason, no undead follower them, making the evacuation process a lot simpler.

A few minutes later, more than a hundred ships set sail. The total refugees included one third population of Lordaeron. Their destination, the western lands of Kalimdor, where an unknown destiny awaited them.

* * *

**First of all, sorry for updating late :P had my exams... -_- please dont kill me. **

**The finalised list of the selected ocs is on the forum, please check out the result if you want to. Only 6 are selected instead of the original number, cause it was too troublesome. ( I got a few messages that said " Hey use my dwarf hunter.") and that's it. I did NOT select such characters, who were nicely lacking any information. **

**Then the marriage of Arthas and Sylvanas has caused some problems, I know. But dont worry, there shall be only minor traces of ArthasxSylvanas, while there shall be major ArthasxJaina. She shall be there for humor. **

**If anyone has any questions, PM me or ask it with a review or drop a line in the forum. Anything counts. **

**And thanks for reviewing for the last chapter. Drop a line, praise or flame, do whatever you want to do with a review , but review!**


	7. Healing wounds

**Disclaimer: I don't own Warcraft. **

**Chapter 6 **

* * *

It is said that you will really recognize the value of on object once you lose it. Otherwise, you usually take it for granted, abusing its usual presence, and disregarding it. If something or someone who was truly loved was snatched away abruptly, the results are usually not good. Such was the condition of Arthas. He had his kingdom; something that he had fallen in love with as a child taken away just within a day. He had lost many of his friends as well as his mentor and superior. The worst was the fact that his father was murdered in front of him.

And he couldn't do anything to prevent it.

Those were precisely the thoughts that were plaguing his mind. He was ridden with many emotions, self-loathing and grief being some of them. He was unable to forgive himself. To put it in simpler words, Muradin had just came strolling in and killed his father with almost no effort. And he was so powerless that he couldn't even lay small scratch on him. Guilt tore at him; making him feel a severe bout of nausea that had nothing to do with the sea. Rage imbued with guilt was running rampant in his mind, subduing all other thoughts almost instantly.

In fact, his mind had become so numb that he had failed to see that it had already been five days since they had set sail. Since they had lost sight of the coast, so had the crew lost sight of their prince. Arthas had gone and barricaded himself in his cabin; all duties and needs forgotten. He had barricaded himself in his room, so that no one was able to come in and no one was able to get out. Everyone who was on the boat, tried to coax him into opening the door or at least coming out to have a meal, but it was futile. Malric was the first to try, followed closely by Jaina and then by Sylvanas.

After a while, they stopped their efforts, choosing to give him time; time to recover. But that proved to be a costly mistake, as Arthas gave no signs of recovering. Finally, Sylvanas was contemplating breaking down the door. She was the only one confident to do such a thing, as the others were afraid to incur Arthas's wrath.

"Sylvanas! Wait!"

Sylvanas gave a groan of frustration. This was about the 10th time when she was stopped from breaking down the door, and the 6th time by Jaina herself.

"In the Lord's name Jaina, this is not a bad idea!"

Jaina was nearly in hysterics. Lorederon had almost completely fallen in a day, Arthas was in shock and worst of all the morale was at all time low. She wasn't very good at leading the people, which was Arthas's job! Yet here she was trying to calm the crew, although she was failing miserably. However, there was one job she was quite adept at; and that was setting Arthas's mind right on track.

"I know, I know… However you listen to for this one time? Please?"

The High Elf commander looked highly skeptical at that. However, Jaina knew Arthas more than anyone else right now, so she decided to pay heed.

"Speak."

"Letmegoin." Jaina spoke rather quickly, as if she was waiting to blurt this answer out for a long time.

"What?"

Jaina face grew flustered, embarrassed by her careless mistake. She repeated those words, although a bit more slowly and carefully.

"Let me get this straight" Sylvanas retorted "A few moments earlier, you were all too ready to yank me away from this door so that Arthas can get more time for mourning his dad, his mentor, his friends and whoever else that died in the attack. And now you want to break down the door and give him piece of your mind?"

"In simpler terms, yes."

"And you expect me to sit on the sidelines and do nothing at all?"

"Yes."

"And may I ask why?"

Jaina gave a small growl of frustration. "I just think that I can have better chance of persuading him than you, ok? You have to trust me."

To her surprise, Sylvanas just started laughing and let her through. When she asked what was her reason for her behavior for her laughter, she just laughed more and walked out to the deck.

At that same time, Jaina shrugged and blinked into the room.

* * *

The room was deathly silent. To Jaina's surprise, nothing was broken. She half expected to see many things broken, which generally was a shot that Arthas was venting his anger on other things. This meant that the situation was very bad. This meant two things; one was the glaring fact that Arthas had a long time to recover, and the other was that he could go hate-mad anytime.

She slowly stepped forward, not wanting to waste any more time. Night was approaching, and the last of the sun's rays streamed through the windows and painted a few parts of the room bright orange. They provided a fair bit of illumination, but thankfully, Jaina was able to navigate thought the room well. She was able to make out Arthas's figure which was on the bed, facing away from her. He hadn't even removed his armor, or let his sword fall from his hand. Jaina quietly tiptoed in front of him, expecting him to be asleep, but to her surprise, his eyes were wide open. But on closer observation, they were clearly bloodshot. His eye lids were almost dropping, but somehow, they used to jump back up. He was so lost within his own thoughts that he did not even notice Jaina until she was nearly an inch from his face.

Being starved from human contact from such a long time, and seeing a face which was almost touching his forehead at an instant, gave Arthas a very big shock. His mind did the only thing that it could do at that juncture.

He screamed.

His reaction was almost comic. Arthas had almost jumped from one side of the bed to the other, and was clutching his sword as if he was hanging onto it for dear life. His eyes strained to adjust to the surroundings, as he had not moved for the majority of his time in the ship.

"J-Jaina? What are you doing here? Is it night already?"

Despite the situation, Jaina could not manage to suppress a small giggle and a blush. She figured that she take a long time in the room.

* * *

_After a few hours, and a lot of broken objects later._

"I know it is not easy for you Arthas, but the people here are depending upon you now! You made them believe in you, you made them join this voyage, so they are your responsibility! Its time you got out of this mess yourself, and started acting like the King you should be!"

Arthas was silent. The last few hours included mostly him shouting and venting his anger out on mundane objects, all the while cursing himself for his inability to do anything. However Jaina refused to admit such a thing, instead forcing him to admit that without him, the human race would have been cavorting undead by now.

"I'll try. I won't promise you anything yet, not for some time. I-I just need time to think….."

"You had 5 days to think Arthas! And anyways, you don't need time to think, you need time to rest. You must been stuck to that place for 5 days with and nourishment or rest."

Hearing the word 'rest' made his ears perk up. Suddenly all the fatigue caught up with him, and he instantly felt drowsy. His legs gave away, but fortunately he caught himself on a nearby table. Smiling to herself, Jaina helped him towards his bed, and laid him down on the covers. She stood at the edge of the bed, debating her next course of action. Within the minute, she had joined him.

"Sylvanas shall get jealous."

"I don't care. I am not sharing."

"See? I knew you were jealous."

"And I knew you were uncomfortable with the agreement."

"What can I do? It was forced on me! And on her too, as a matter of fact."

"What you can do now is sleep, and later apologize to her."

"I won't. That was not my fault. Anyways, we aren't even legally bound by now. Since Lorederon has fallen, there is no further need of that treaty."

"…"

"What? Are you disappointed or happy that you've got me all to yourself?"

"I'm….. Confused. I'm tired and I'm sleepy. Just apologize to her later, will you?"

"I knew you were jealous."

"Oh for goodness sake! Shush."

* * *

The next day, Arthas finally exited his cabin. However, he did not venture onto the deck. His first visit was to the galley and the ship's mess, where he quenched his immense hunger. Those who were close to the prince knew that he was unbeatable in three things; winning the hearts of people, swordsmanship and eating.

After spending nearly an hour eating, Arthas finally exited the mess and ventured out onto the deck. Slowly yet steadily, sounds of cheers and encouragement reached his ears. He was a beacon of hope for the people now, for he had saved them when everything else failed. He was their prophet, a person who had fought evil and foreseen the destruction of their homeland and had saved them from their deaths. A prince, who was hailed as a madman by his peers, yet being steadfast in his resolve to save them. For the refugees, the mere sight of him was enough to encourage them.

However, out of the blue, a fist came sailing and struck him hard, making him stumble a bit. Instantly, the cheering stopped, and was replaced by shouts of anger. But it not stop there alone. The person who was hitting him got off another punch before there was a flurry of activity and the person, an elf to be precise was grabbed held in a vice like grip by two people who Arthas recognized as some of the people he used to train with. One he had met only once, but he had met the other quite many times. His eyes wandered to the elf they had caught, his eyes widened with surprise when he saw that the elf was a female, instead of being a male. His aching cheekbone was a reminder of the fact that the woman in front of him was a very good puncher.

She had high cheekbones, along with platinum blonde hair, a common thing with most elves. What was strange was the fact that she carried the Holy Book along with her yet still had a bow which was now currently taken away. A wolf was near her, although it was too caught, but it was trying its best to free itself. She wore a complete set of leather armor, all down to the boots. Her expression was hate filled, and she was glaring daggers in Arthas's direction. A sympathetic Sylvanas peeked over her shoulder.

"Arthas, it's good to see you again. Err… this is Ryukiba... And err… she's a bit angry at you."

At that precise moment Ryukiba spoke up"You're damm right I am!"

However Arthas completely ignored her, and whispered into Sylvanas's ear "Isn't Ryukiba a strange name for you elves?"

"Yes, as you can figure, it's not her real name. She hates to be called with her real name."

"And you know this how…?"

"She's my captain."

"Oh. Can you tell me why she's angry?"

"Just because you were absent for 5 days."

Arthas gave an audible gulp. He motioned the people who were holding Ryukiba to release her. They were bewildered at first, but did not question the order. Arthas took in a deep breath, calmed his nerves, and looked directly into Ryukiba's blue eyes.

"You seem to have a problem with me…"

"That's the understatement of the year!"

"I am really sorry for what inconvenience I may-"

"Sorry? Sorry? The crew was worried sick for you! They depended upon you to lead them yet you ran away to cry in your bedroom! No one knew where we were actually going! We were looking forwards to you to lead us and you left us just to drown in your own sorrow!"

Arthas looked down guiltily. He knew that she was right. He had abandoned the crew when they needed him most. However, most of the people around him were silently grinding their teeth in anger. Both Ryukiba and Arthas were however, blissfully unaware of that fact.

"You're pathetic! Just because you couldn't handle a bit of bad news you went and started crying…."

That stung a nerve within Arthas. "Now look. Don't-"

"Or WHAT? You know, I really hate people such as you. Couldn't handle the grief that their people were killed and then they run off and spend days cry-"

She never got to finish that statement. Arthas let lose a wicked blow that caught her straight in the face and knocked her out cold. He had made a mistake, but she was adding immense amounts of oil to the fire. That made him snap. The wolf finally got loose from its captivity, and lunged at Arthas. However, the same fist crashed down on its skull too, reducing it to a pile of unconscious heap.

"Now THAT… was oddly satisfying." He spoke out loud, causing a ripple of laughter to go throughout the deck.

"Take her to her quarters and confiscate her weapons."

Two soldiers instantly carried both unconscious forms and took them away. As they vanished into the darkness below the decks, Arthas turned his attention to the people that had held the hot headed elf.

He had met the man only once, that too when he was with his father. He used to be a mercenary, but was he always fought for Lorederon. He had yet to see him in combat, but was told that he was quite good. Two long swords hung from his hip, signifying his fighting style. He was of medium height, and tanned his tanned skin peeked from the gaps in his armor. His medium length black hair was let loose, although some bangs fell on his eyes, almost blocking his blue eyes. He kept stroking his goatee often, which seemed as his habit of sorts.

"You have my thanks, young man, for saving me from that fiery… woman. May I inquire your name, as I don't seem to recall yours?"

"Orasnus Strongarm at your service sir!" His voice was gruff, and had an edge to it.

The other person however, had got impatient by this time, and had resorted to tapping her feet. Arthas knew her too well. Known for her quick tongue and her weird tastes, she was one of her kind. She preferred to be called Catherine, and nothing else. She wore no chest plates, choosing to don a simple red shirt always. She wore only bracers and leg guards as armor and nothing else. She came from a family of expert swordsmen, all of them having served Lorederon, just like her. She fought with her family's style of one sword combat, along with a touch of acrobatics. Her fighting style was unique, and even Arthas was generally hard pushed to defeat her in combat. She was also well endowed, something which she made no attempt to hide. The top button of her shirt was open, and an outlandish skull necklace hanged from her neck. Thankfully the skulls were made from metal and were not real. Her Grey orbs were narrowed at the direction of Arthas, and she lazily flicked her rich blond hair over her shoulder.

Finally, she spoke. "What? Have you forgotten me?"

Arthas hesitated. She was known for her quick wit and tongue, which made her worse than Sylvanas. "Err…. No….. You see…."

"By the time you remember what you wanted to say, I would be a thousand years old, my lord. So I'll just save you the trouble and dismiss myself."

Arthas stood over there dumbfounded, trying to come up with a decent reply. Just as he was going to give her a retort, a frantic cry sounded throughout the ship

"MAELSTORM!"

* * *

**Ah, before you kill me, sorry for the late update. Was confused with the part of how this story would progress from here, what could be Arthas's actual reaction to the events that transpired before the The Path of The Dammed. There were other reasons too! I swear!**

**OK, OCs belong to the various people that created them, don't steal them without permission. Ryukiba belongs to Azure Ryukiba ( duh) Oransus Strongarm belongs to Flamin'Wolf . Catherine belongs to me. :D**

**I decided to skip all the pick-me-up emotional bullshit, for I figured that I shouldn't bore you all with details that happened. **

**And yeah, I did have a severe case of writer's block in between, and my motivation was from some extremly well written ArthasxJaina stories. Thanks to them too, there wont even be a minute trace of ArthasxSylvanas in this fic, so rejoice ya all! **

**And Ryukiba, I hope you are happy with your character's 'graceless' entry. I tried my best to make it meet your expectations. :P **

**The reason why I added my second human OC because I coudnt simply approach anyone with the question " Hey can my character hook up with yours ? " Damm that would be completly blizzare. XP **

**I shall hereby promise to update early later... **

**Any questions, doubts or anything that is related to the ocs, please go the forum. So the people who own them can clear them if they want to. Or I'll do it if they are lazy...**

**Review! Don't flame, or Jaina shall blizzard you! **

**Later... **

**You can ( try ) to kill me now. **

**Parley? **


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